10 games into the season, the Championship is at an interval for the second international break of the campaign.

It gives us a chance to look at the top performers to date, and defensively there is one standout candidate as the best players in the division.

Rating a defender on the basis of key performance indicators, tackles won, interceptions, aerial duels won, and shots blocked, while factoring in any goals or assists made too - there is one key winner, Hull City defender Curtis Davies.

Team

Won Tackles

Interceptions Won

Aerial Duels Won

Accurate Crosses

Shots Blocked

Assists

Goals

Total

Appearances

Curtis Davies

Hull City

14

37

69

0

12

0

1

133

10

Shane Duffy

Blackburn

3

23

76

0

10

0

1

113

10

Nedum Onuoha

QPR

19

34

45

0

11

0

1

110

10

Sol Bamba

Leeds

22

40

41

0

6

0

0

109

10

Jonathan Grounds

Birmingham

27

29

43

2

5

0

1

107

10

Grant Hanley

Blackburn

14

29

52

0

7

1

1

104

10

Dean Lewington

MK Dons

31

24

36

5

2

1

0

99

10

Michael Dawson

Hull City

10

22

50

0

15

0

1

98

10

Sean Morrison

Cardiff

8

17

59

0

11

0

2

97

10

Paul McShane

Reading

13

29

47

0

4

0

0

93

10

Davies outranks his nearest competitor, Shane Duffy by more than 20 points, with Nedum Onohuua of QPR and Sol Bamba of Leeds closely following.

Bamba's solid season has been marred by a comical slip which allowed a goal against Middlesbrough, but apart from that the Leeds captain has been a dependable part of the club's backline, which until the last two matches had conceded under a goal a game.

Shane Duffy is into his second season at Blackburn Rovers after signing from Everton, and is really showing his worth for the club, even though they sit in a mid-table 15th.

Davies' effect on Hull has been more telling, with the defender who was one extra-time's worth of football away from lifting the FA Cup in 2014, helping the Tigers reach fifth place heading into the international break.

Hull fans may also note Paul McShane featuring in the top 10, a player they released in the summer, who has gone onto become a first team regular for Reading.

Dan Coombs

Dan Coombs has been writing for HITC Sport full time since 2012 and has helped the website grow it's audience considerably during this period, while managing a team of writers. He has interviewed high profile names including Stuart Pearce and his work has been cited in Javier Hernandez's biography. In addition to football, Dan is a big fan of the NFL and NBA.